Belt-adjusting apparatus for grain elevators



Jan. 5 ,1926. 1,568,355

A. C. VAN HOUWELING BELT ADJUSTING APPARATUS FOR GRAIN ELEVATORS Filed Jan. 5, 1924 Patented Jan. 5, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE...

ARTHUR C. VAN HOUWELING, OF BELLA, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO GARDEN CITY FEEDER COMPANY, OF PELLA,IOWA, A CORPORATION OF IOWA.

BELT-ADJUSTING APPARATUS FOR GRAIN ELEVATORS.

Application filed January 5, 1924. Serial No. 684,603.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR C. VAN Horn WELING, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pella, in the county of Marion and State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Belt-Adjusting Apparatus for Grain Elevators, of which the following is a specification.

In connection with the use of threshing machines there is now commonly employed a grain elevator device for conveying grain from the bottom portion of the threshing machine to a discharge point near the top thereof. This elevator is frequently used in combination with an automatic weigher for the grain. These elevators usually comprise two elevator legs spaced apart and formed hollow. and two endless belts usually extended through these legs and around pulleys at the end thereof and buckets attached to said belts. It is desirable to provide means whereby these belts may be readily and quickly applied in a taut manner, and also readily and easily adjusted to take up slack.

The object of my invention is to so construct the elevator leg proper and to provide a tool to coact with the elevator leg, whereby the elevator belts will be readily, quickly and easily applied in a taut manner and readjusted to take up wear.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the elevator leg, and in the construction and combination with the ele vator leg of a belt tightening tool, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which :v

Figure 1 shows a front elevation of a portion of a grain elevator of the kind commonly used in connection with threshing machines, the hinged door being opened and the belt tightening tool applied thereto as in use.

Figure 2 shows a side elevation of same partly in section on the line 22 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 shows a detail view of one of the pulleys and the clamp for connecting the belt ends applied thereto.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, I have used the reference numeral 10 to indicate a grain conveyor to carry grain from the lower portion of a threshing machine to the elevator. The elevator proper comprises two elevator legs, one being designed to contain the upwardly moving part of the conveyor and the other the downwardly moving part thereof, and each leg comprises a substantially rectangular body portion 11. In front of one of the elevator legs, I'have forniied a rectangular opening normally covered by a hinged door 12, provided with a latch 13 for holding it closed, and in the back of the elevator leg in line with the door opening is a vertical slot lat, At both ends of the elevator leg, pulleys like the one shown in Figure 3 and indicated by the numeral 15 are employed, although only one of these is shown in the drawings.

Passed around the pulleys and extended through both elevator legs arethe belts 16, spaced apart from each other. Attached to these belts at suitable intervals are the ele vator buckets 17 of ordinary construction. At the ends of the belts I preferably form a series of openings 18, and at one end of each belt I provide a belt connecting de-' vice comprising a body portion 19 having one part substantially at right angles to the other, and two bolts 20 to be extended through the two body portions and the two adjacent portions of the belt, as clearly shown in Figure 3 For the purpose of forcibly drawing together the adjacent ends of the belts, I provide two levers 21, both pivotally connected to a short link 22 and each having near its pivoted end a pivoted rod 23 having a hook-shaped portion 2a. For connecting the rods 23 to the belts, I have provided a clamp comprising a base plate having an opening therein to receive the hook 24:, and a clamping plate 26 designed to be detachably connected to the base plate 25 by the bolts 27.

Assuming that it is desired to apply new belts or readjust old belts, then the door 12 is opened and the ends of the belt are brought to position where they are accessible to the door opening. Then the clamping members 25 and 26 are clamped to the adjacent end portions of the belts, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. Then the belt connecting devices 19 are applied to one end of each belt, as shown in Figure 2. Then the rods 23 are inserted through the slot 14: and

hooked to the plates 25. Theirthe levers 22 are 0 aerated to'bring their handle ends toivard each other, thereby applying a belt stretching and tightening strain to the belts and bringing the adjacent ends of the belts to overlapping positions. When this has been done, the-bolts 20 are extended through both ends 01 the belt and through both of the plates 19, as shown in Figure 3, and the bolts are tightened. The slot i l coaets with the rods 23 when the belt tightening levers are being operated to serve as a. guide to hold'the belts and their grain buckets accurately in line at the center of the elevator leg, as without this guide arrangement there might be a tendency for pressure applied to the levers to force the buckets against the sides out the elevator legs and thus prevent proper stretching of the belts.

hen the belts have been tightened and clamped together, as described, then the rods 23 are unhooked from the clamps and the clamps 25 and 26 ren'ioved from the belts, and the door 12 closed, whereupon the device is ready for operation in'the ordinary manner.

I claim as my invention: it

1. A device of the class described comprising elevator legs formed with a door opening on one side and longitudinal slot on the opposite side adjacent to the door, an elevator belt extended through the leg, clamps de si ned to be detaehably secured to the end portions of the belt, rods extended through said slot and detachably connected to the said clanips and two levers pivotally connected to each other and pivotally COIlllGC-tt to said rods on the exterior of the elevator leg, for the purposes stated. 7

illn a device of the class described, the combination of an elevator leg formed with a door opening at one side and a longitudinalslot at the opposite side adjacent. to the deer opening, twobelts arranged'side by side iusaid elevator leg, elevator buckets coir nected to said belts, two clamping devices each comprising a base plate having an opening in the center and a top plate de signed to be placed on opposite sides of said belts and bolts for clamping them together,

two levers, a link at one end thereof pivoted to both levers, a rod pivotally connected to each lever and l ormed with a hook designed to enter the opening in the base plate designed to be extended through said slot and to enter the said opening in the base plate, substantially as and for the purposes stated.

Des Moines, Iowa, December 3, 1928.

ARTHUR O. VAN HOUWELING. 

